wash them in hot water and don't use any fabric softener. they will get scratchy. Me--I love soft towels!

A couple of years ago I bought some towels from BB&B out of curiosity. One set made from bamboo and one made from hemp. Both are courser/rougher than cotton, quite absorbent, and quite durable.

If you like scratchy towels - and I do - you need to buy cheaper towels. Not too cheap - think Targets better grade or medium-priced ones from BB&B. JCP has some good, cheap ones too. If you get really good Egyptian cotton they won't be scratchy for a long time.

I buy washcloths by the dozen to wash my face. I use them once then throw them in the wash. I like them scratchy. I bought some good ones on sale that are still too soft and nothing I do to abuse them seems to make them scratchy.

Buy Lands End's finest Supima towels, and wash on HOT water. Worked for us. (much to our di$may)

i'm with you. i hate the too-soft (completely non absorbent) plush "luxury" towels. i found the perfect towels (for me!) at home goods. they're a kind of waffle weave and i could tell by how they felt in the store that they were what i was looking for. they're not at all thin, but a very nice weight and they were cheap. really cheap. i think i paid $7 for each bath towel.

they're white and i wash them using the sanitary cycle.

kate, high quality towels aren't all non-absorbent. I have expensive towels purchased at Macy's that are VERY absorbent, AND very soft. I've seen some very soft towels that are quite affordable at Kohl's but not having owned them/washed them for months, I have no idea how soft they would remain over time.

I don't over-do with softener. too much softener will reduce absorbency

@ Dave: agreed! I never use fabric softener on my towels. Recently I was having a haircut and the towels were soooo soft. I commented on it and the stylist said, yes they are but they don't absorb well. I asked if they used fabric softener and she confirmed they did. I suggested they stop or cut back and see if it helps. I will ask next time if they did and for the results. But personally, I saw a big difference when I stopped using it on towels and cloths.

fabric softener? what's that?!
i never touch the stuff. ;-)

I always use FS on certain loads, including towels, and have no issues with absorbency, but the trick is not to use very much FS. I dilute it roughly 4 or 5 to one, and put in that diluted mixture up to the lower limit of the FS compartment of our Samsung FL. Some loads we DON'T use FS, such as biking clothes! I made the mistake the other day of putting in FS with bike shorts/shirts and realized the error of my ways when I took everything out of the dryer. What a mess. I had to rewash them all three times with a bit of detergent and some vinegar. Eventually, they came out fine, but I was worried I'd ruined them all as the feel was disgusting--like they were oily and the stuff stuck to my fingers when I handled the bike clothes for even a moment. I'm so glad a few rewashes fixed the problem.

I agree. A fluffy soft towel feels great to touch, but to dry? A not-so-soft towel does it better. If you can wash inside, and hang them outside = rough towel! :)

Wow; that's easy. What covington said.

My DH likes his towels "crunchy". I never use fabric softener on my towels. My grandmother used it so much that the water would just run across her towels so I learned early that softener and towels don't mix. When I put them in the dryer they fluff so they are still soft. When I hang them outside for a few hours to dry they get super crunchy. If you fold one in half it will stand up by itself on a tile floor! Now that is a tough towel

IKEA bath towels are the very best on earth for wonderful perfect towel; old fashion and out of this world

Barbara Read,

Which model Ikea towel are you referring to?

Jeff

I agree with Barbara about Ikea towels. My family prefers the Frajen towels.

I bought a couple of lovely IKEA towels, but found that they are not very absorbent. They said 100% cotton, but I wonder about that. Anyway, off they went to Goodwill.

I bought a towel in an open air market in Peru, not a hotel towel. This towel is rough and perfect for exfoliating the whole body. Can't find anything like it in the US. Walmart has huge packs of cheap washcloths for $3.49 that are rough and perfect for exfoliating. Unfortunately Walmart body towels are too soft. So you have to go to a third world country to find a rough towel. lol.

Or after washing hang on the line outdoors to dry. Dont use fabric softener. Should be rough enough to do the job.

I bought two sets in white at Target years ago. They were on clearance and are part sandpaper I think. Ha Ridiculously cheap price. Thought I would use them for this and that but actually liked them for showers.

I use them occasionally and the rough doesn't bother me. I grew up on line dried clothes and for me nothing beats a stiff towel to dry off with.

I have a set of about 12 white bath towels from Target. Think they must be about 7 years old now. I never expected them to last this long. Still snowy white and fluffy soft although the hems have come undone on a couple of them. I dont like a stiff scratchy towel. Give me soft and fluffy. LOL

Linen!

I got some nice thick but firm cotton (short loops) towels from Pottery Barn. They also have soft ones, so you have to be careful.

I like scratchy washcloths for exfoliation but soft bath towels. I buy white washcloths (bulk) at WM and my latest round of bath towels came from Sam's. The towels are absorbent on one side not as absorbent on the other.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/salviken-bath-towel-anthracite-60349342/

Thanks. I just ordered two of the aqua colored towels. Just recently replenished our bath towels in both bathrooms but these looked really interesting.

Barbara Read, thank you!

I love the Ikea Frajen towels but can't find them at Ikea or online anymore. Is the Salviken similar?

I stay at Motel 6 when I travel, just for their sandpaper-rough towels. Look for a wholesale website that sells these bulk economy/bleach-safe towels intended for hotels/gyms. When the product description only mentions how cheap they are to replace, and how bleach-friendly they are in removing stains (aka, no mention of softness), you know they're made for a-- errrr, rough motel crowd.

try a company called "rough linen" I bought my husband one last year in a bath sheet size and its his favorite, very absorbent but the roughness sort of polishes you skin